What diving really costs on a luxury phinisi from Labuan Bajo

By Luxury Phinisi Labuan Bajo Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table carry their source and check month. A published rate is not a quote and not our offer, and nothing here is legal advice.

It varies by boat. Vela and Lamima publish rates that include diving, Komodo Resort's guide lists diving among the usual exclusions, and the same guide warns that many charter boats are not dive boats at all. Courses, diving insurance and a per-diver park charge can still sit outside the rate, so ask about each line.

Is diving included in the charter rate?

Three situations exist side by side in Labuan Bajo, and the same headline rate can hide any of them. The first job is to find out which one you are looking at, because the cost question only makes sense after that.

Those three named boats are single vessels and do not set a norm for the market. Lamima's rate sits in the price table on this page, and it shows the other half of the pattern: when diving is inside a nightly rate, you pay for it as part of the boat whether you dive or not. For a group with one or two divers, compare that total with a boat that prices diving separately, if that boat can support diving at all.

The word certified also matters. Vela's wording covers certified divers, so a guest who has never dived is outside that line and sits with the course question below.

Which diving costs sit outside the rate?

Even where diving is included, the published exclusions show several lines that can remain. This is the list to work through with any seller.

• The park's diving charge. Neptune Liveaboards' guide says diving is the one activity with its own charge in the park, on top of the daily entry fee, per diver per day, though Kompas lists fishing and drones as well, each with its own ticket. The diving amount is in the price table on this page. To cost it, multiply the number of divers by the days they dive in the park.
• Whether park fees in the rate cover that charge. Vela and Lamima both publish rates that include park entrance fees, and we could not confirm whether that wording reaches the diving charge. Ask.
• Diving insurance. Vela excludes it from the rate and requires it for all divers. Our page on travel insurance for a phinisi trip explains how that fits with general cover.
• Courses. Vela excludes PADI courses and Lamima excludes PADI certification, so learning to dive is a cost of its own on both, where it is offered at all.
• Tax on the rate. Lamima's rate row carries VAT on top. Check whether any diving supplement you are quoted has tax added as well.
• Fees listed apart on cabin trips. The Tiare rows in the price table show a liveaboard cabin rate per person with park and port fees listed separately for the same Komodo cruise. On that model, ask what each line covers and whether the diving charge is in it.

We found no published figure we could rely on for gear rental, a private dive guide or specialist gas on a Labuan Bajo charter boat, so if a seller gives you one, ask for it in the written offer where it can be checked later. Our exclusions list covers the wider set of lines outside a rate, and our page on Komodo park fees covers the tickets around the diving charge.

Is every luxury phinisi a dive boat?

No. Komodo Resort's charter guide says many charter boats are not dive boats and may have no compressor, no tanks and nobody qualified to lead a dive. The source is an operator that sells diving, so it has a reason to make the point. It is still easy to test, because the three things it names are yes-or-no questions.

This catches luxury buyers in a specific way. A long list of water toys, a tender and a large deck can look as if diving must be part of the package, when the toys and the dive operation are separate things. A boat can carry jet skis and paddleboards without a compressor on board. Snorkelling gear in a listing is also not evidence of scuba capacity.

The cost of getting this wrong is greater in Komodo than in many places, because of the water itself. The same guide says Komodo's best-known dive sites run strong, unpredictable currents and need a guide who knows them on each tide. Wikipedia says currents along the east coast of Komodo towards Labuan Bajo can be extremely dangerous with inexperienced guides. So the person leading the dive is part of what you are buying, and a rate that includes diving without saying who leads it has left out the most important detail. The request below asks for that person's qualification directly, because a rate page will not show it.

How long should you wait to fly after diving?

Divers Alert Network recommends at least 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive, at least 18 hours after multi-day repetitive diving, and substantially longer after dives with compulsory decompression. It also warns that its trials used dry, resting volunteers, so longer intervals might be needed for divers who were immersed and exercising. Phinisi Trip prints its own note on its Komodo dive itineraries: avoid any flight in the 18 to 24 hours after your last dive. A charter with several dives over several days falls in the network's 18-hour group at the least, so set your last dive by the flight out of Labuan Bajo and have that timing written into the itinerary. If you notice symptoms, the network says to seek medical advice instead of flying.

What should you ask before booking?

Send these in writing and keep the answers. A good seller can answer most of them in one message.

1. Is there a compressor on board, and how many tanks does the boat carry?
2. Who leads the dives, what qualification do they hold, and how well do they know these sites on each tide?
3. How many divers does each guide take?
4. Is diving in the rate? If so, for how many dives a day, and for certified divers only?
5. Are gear, weights and tank fills included, and what happens if I bring my own?
6. Is the park's per-diver charge in the rate, or added to it?
7. Is diving insurance required, and what proof do you need?
8. Can a guest take a course on board, what does it cost, and who runs it?
9. Will the route be planned for diving, or will the dives fit around a sightseeing route?

Hold us to that list as well. An enquiry here could end with one of our group's companies holding the contract, and the same nine questions apply to any offer we send.

If you want a trip built around diving, say so in the first message. Give the number of divers and non-divers, each diver's certification level and rough experience, and the days you can travel. Currents and route both favour planning from the start, and it is harder to add diving to a trip that has already been laid out around other things. We make no promise about marine life on any dive.

What do buyers ask about diving costs?

Is diving included in every all-inclusive phinisi rate?

No. Vela and Lamima publish rates that include diving, but those are single boats, and Komodo Resort's guide lists diving among the usual exclusions. Check the published terms of the specific boat.

Do non-divers pay the park's diving charge?

No, going by Neptune Liveaboards' guide, which describes the charge as per diver per day on top of the daily entry fee. The entry fee itself still applies to everyone visiting the park.

If my rate includes park fees, is the diving charge covered?

Only if the wording says so. Ask the seller to confirm the diving charge by name in the written offer.

Can I learn to dive on a luxury phinisi charter?

It depends on the boat, so ask. Vela and Lamima both list PADI courses or certification as exclusions, which means a course is an added cost on those boats where one can be arranged.

Is diving insurance compulsory?

On Vela, yes: its rate page requires diving insurance for all divers and excludes it from the rate. Other boats need asking what they require.

Which sources support this page?

• Komodo Resort: Komodo yacht charter guide
• Neptune Liveaboards: Indonesia liveaboard park fees and visa guide
• Vela: rates, inclusions and exclusions
• Lamima: rates and schedules
• Boatbookings: Phinisi 50 listing
• Tiare: schedule and rate
• Wikipedia: Komodo National Park
• Kompas: Komodo park ticket rules
• Divers Alert Network: guidelines for flying after diving
• Phinisi Trip: Phinisi Labuan Bajo (seller page)

How do I reach the desk?

For a diving question, tell the desk how many divers you have, their certification levels and the boat you are looking at. The desk reads WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 and bd@juaraholding.com. The reply is guidance, and you are not bound by anything until you accept a written offer.